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Run For Your Life
They were sisters. They'd been close since birth, when the two curled up next to eachother in a damp, mewling pile of fur. The queens in the nursery used to joke that if one kit got a thorn in her paw, the other would yelp and hop around. So when came the day that Dawnsong fell, it shattered Whitefern's world. "Can't catch me!" Dawnkit taunted, waggling her haunches in the air and pressing her chest to the ground. Whitekit snarled playfully and pounced, rolling over and over in a yowling knot of pale-ginger-and-white fur. Whitekit gripped her sister's ear in her teeth, gently, and growled as she pummeled her light ginger sister's back with her hind paws. "Kits!" A gruff voice huffed. Dawnkit poked her head out from under Whitekit's belly and peered out at Bramblestorm, a crotchety old elder who's whiskers were twitching in irritation. The dilute toirtoiseshell she-cat next to him prodded his flank with one forepaw. "Leave them alone," Morningshine purred, dull green eyes glowing at the sisters. "They've been couped up in the nursery all leaf-bare, it's no wonder they're so rowdy." Whitekit paused to purr at the elder - and was promptly knocked off her paws by Dawnkit, who chuffed with amusement when her sister howled. The scene blurred, pelts blending with the background, before fading to black and brightening to another scene - two young cats, one pale orange and the other light ginger and white, still young but obviously older. "Dawnpaw! Whitepaw!" The cats yowled the new apprentices' names, waving their tails. Whitepaw bounced on her paws, while Dawnpaw stared in a daze at her Clanmates, as if she couldn't believe she'd actually made it through the six moons to reach apprenticeship. Seventeen years by her side Broke the same bread Wore the same clothes, and they said "Race you to the top of the hill!" Dawnpaw challenged, prodding Whitepaw in the flank with her tail. Whitepaw purred and dropped into a crouch. "Challenge accepted! On your mark, get set-" "Go!" Dawnpaw cried, shooting off into the bracken and charging up the hill. "Cheater!" Whitepaw yowled after her, before pelting after the tip of her sister's light ginger tail. Whitepaw's heart pounded in her rib cage, her lungs ached and burned and her legs felt like jelly by the time she made it to the hill, but Dawnpaw and her had burst from the bushes into the small clearing at the top at the same time. A tie. "If you wouldn't have cheated I would've won," Whitepaw muttered, plopping down to lap at her white and ginger coat. Dawnpaw snorted, and turned around. Whitepaw heard her sister gasp, and looked up. "Whoa," She murmured, getting to her paws and padding to Dawnpaw's side. The land fell away here, steeply and majestically, the hill uninterupted by trees. The sun was setting, lighting the grass below into shades of gold and pink and red, and the stream that weaved through the open plains was shimmering like a golden and silver tail. "It's beautiful," Whitepaw whispered, watching a flock of birds wheel through the air, dark smudges against a reddening sky. Dawnpaw whirled to face her sister. "Let's make a pact," She declared, her fur fluffing up.Whitepaw looked into her dark blue eyes, those eyes that had been the most familiar thing in the world to her since she was little. "What kind of pact?" She asked skeptically, her tail twitching. Dawnpaw purred. "That we'll never let anything get between us. We're sisters, after all. Nothing ever should." Whitepaw felt a blossom of fire warming her heart. She'd always have her sister's back! "Okay. I swear never to let anything come between our sisterhood." Dawnpaw repeated the oath, and the two sat and watched the sun turn the world to fire before the ice of night quenched it. We're sisters with nothing between If one of us falls The other will soon be following The soft flame of sunset fades to black before giving way to the softer tones of midday, as the two sisters recieve their warrior names together. "Congratulations, you two," Smallcloud, a tiny tabby she-cat, purred as she swept past. Dawnsong glanced at Whitefern, her fur heavy with happiness that the two had gotten their names together. The pact they'd made as apprentices moons ago hadn't been broken yet. And it never would! Whitefern settled into a comfortable crouch for her warrior vigil with Dawnsong. She was sleepy, but she knew Dawnsong would never let her fall asleep, and Whitefern would do everything in her ability to make sure Dawnsong stayed awake. There was no way they were going to ruin their warriorship by breaking the vigil! The two sisters gazed into each other's eyes, silenced by the rules of the vigil, unable to tell each other congratulations but free to share knowing looks. Dawnsong flicked her tail in the direction the sun sets - a reminder that they'd stayed closer than each other's pelts, and they always would. Whitefern dipped her head. She wouldn't forget. That was when she noticed that daylight was breaking. What? Whitefern thought to herself, getting to her paws and squinting at the light glowing on the horizon. Sunrise shouldn't be for hours! We just started out vigil! But then it got brighter. And closer. And hotter. Fire. "Fire!" Whitefern howled, leaping into the camp. "Everyone! Get out of the camp! There's a fire!" Cats swarmed from the dens, howling when they saw the flames bearing down on them; they tore through the camp walls and raced into the woods, all going in seperate directions. Whitefern whirled around, looking for the elders, but they'd already been helped out. "Whitefern! Help me!" A voice coughed from the edge of camp. A voice that Whitefern had heard grow from squeaky and high to deeper, slower and more mature. Dawnsong. Her ginger-furred sister was trapped under a big, thick tree branch that was smoldering with flames on one end. The fire was slowly creeping toward the she-cat, as if trying to draw out her terror. "Whirefern!" She wailed, struggling harder. "I'm going to die!" She sank her teeth into the branch and tugged, but it was too heavy; it hardly even budged. "Not if I can help it!" Whitefern snapped, leaning all her weight into the branch. But all it did was dig harder into Dawnsong's pelt and make her wail. Whitefern dropped into a crouch next to her sister's head. All the other cats were out of the camp - there was no one to help. "We said nothing would get between us," Dawnsong whimpered as she clawed uselessly at the ground. "I can't die!" Whitefern pressed her nose to her sister's pelt. "I'm so sorry. But you won't be alone. I'll stay with you..." The fire flared up around the two sisters, shielding them from the rest of the world. And Whitefern sat next to her sister, shoulders hunched, as Dawnsong died of smoke inhalation. "I promise..." Dawnsong murmured as the light left her eyes and her head slumped. Whitefern stared numbly at her sister's body. Body. Dawnsong was dead. And now there was one thing between them, one thing that had broken their pact. Death. "Whitefern!" A voice croaked. She looked up, feeling dazed. It was a small brown tabby she-cat with green eyes - Mintfleaf. "What happened?" "She died," Whitefern whispered, feeling the warmth in her heart turn to ice. "I couldn't save her. She died." "We need to get out of here," Mintleaf whispered. "Or else we'll die too. The fire is getting worse." "I can't leave her!" Whitefern wailed, staggering to her paws. "I let her die! The least I can do is stay with her!" But Mintleaf latched her teeth into Whitefern's scruff and dragged her, kicking and howling Dawnsong's name, out of camp. Both of you fell the same day You don't know why One of you never woke up Mintleaf finally released Whitefern, and with a strangled wail she got to her paws and looked around. Oh no. They were at the top of the hill, where Whitefern and Dawnsong had first declared the pact. But the view, once beautifully lit up in fierce flame, now looked cold and dangerous. "You found her!" A relieved voice called. Sootstar. Mintleaf nodded teresly. "Dawnsong's dead," Whitefern screeched, digging her claws into the earth and feeling her world collapse. "My sister is dead!" Silence met her words, cold and unwanted. That's when Whitefern collapsed. And you laid your body on the floor You're desperate to hear her footsteps again But this house is on fire, And we need to go In her dreams, Whitefern was with Dawnsong again. They were on the hill, and Dawnsong was staring down at the scene below. But instead of the sunset lighting up the view with tones of red, gold and yellow, giving it a firey glow, the land really was on fire, destroying everything in it's path. "You could've saved me..." Dawnsong whispered once, before turning and nudging Whitefern sharply down the hill. With a sqwuak, Whitefern went down, unable to stop herself and gaining momentum. She came to a stop at the foot of the hill, flame heating her pelt to the point of unbearability. A branch slammed down on her, smoldering and hot. Whitefern howled, struggling vainly, but she was trapped. A pale shape loomed over her, and Whitefern thrashed her head wildly. "Help me!" Whitefern wailed, feeling her fur catching fire. "I'm going to be burned alive!" But Dawnsong's eyes were cold, not warm and loving. "You didn't help me," She murmured. Then she turned her back and walked away, leaving a burning Whitefern behind. Oh, you don't have to go it alone Go it alone Whitefern was jostled awake by a paw stroking her flank. A wail, hoarse by the roughness of her throat, immediately broke free, startling the cat petting her side. "It's okay, Whitefern," A voice soothed. Emberfoot, her mother. "You're going to be okay. You inhaled a lot of smoke, but nothing some herbs can't fix." Confused, Whitefern wriggled. "Dawnsong! Is she okay? I didn't see her!" Emberfoot flinched, her amber eyes flashing. "Dawnsong died, Whitefern. Mintleaf found you in the camp. You didn't want to leave her side." Whitefern stumbled to her paws, remembering. Her sister, trapped under the branch while smoke killed her organs... "I couldn't save her," Whitefern whispered. Emberfoot's eyes were glowing in the growing morning light. "Go, Whitefern," She whispered. Whitefern turned and ran. Run for your life, my love Run and you don't give up It's all that you are Whitefern's paw slipped into a rabbit burrow. She knew she'd probably twisted it, but she felt no pain and pushed herself harder, running as fast and as far as she could. She didn't even feel out of breath. Just numb. All she could see was her sister's eyes, the light fading from them as she died... All she could do was run. All that you want I will be close behind Run for your life Eventually the ice of horror left her, and Whitefern tired. She stumbled to stop and laid down on the ground, curling her body up tight. Dawnsong was dead and she'd hardly tried to save her. Guilt wracked her body, and she laid there, struggling to breathe, until midday, when she knew it was time to return to her Clan on the hil.. She mgiht never be the same again, but she was still loyal. Feeling like nothing but a shell of who she was before the fire, Whitefern dragged herself back home. "She's back." The whispers followed her as she climbed the hill. Whitefern sank into the long grasses, feeling pain lance through her flank. She winced, and then blinked. Just then - with that one bolt of pain - she'd managed to forget the fire. It muddled all thoughts and replaced them with the thought of the pain. Had she just found her release from the dragging claws of her sister's death? She had a fire inside And that terrified you You swore that you'd never lose your control Baby, let yourself go ' Cause part of you hides And I know the hunger inside of you's strong You can only hold back the river so long You don't have to go it alone You don't have to go it alone, go it alone Run for you life, my love Run and you don't give up It's all that you are ''' '''All that you want Run for you life, right now And if you don't know how I'll come back with you, and take all that's true Leave all that's burned behind Just run for your life